Year-End 2024 Art Report
Year started slowly and was interrupted with occasional tedious stuff, but that's normal.
Paid all bills.
Finished strong. Did 29 shows total. Would have been 30 but one was on my mom's birthday party, so I skipped it and took gifts of jewelry to all the womenfolk. To keep with the metal theme the men will get plunking ammo for their favorite toys, but I am shopped out at the moment.
Geographical Conquests: actually retrenched a little, concentrating on Birmingham and Montgomery. I must go to Atlanta and Nashville soon. Plan is for me to get travel van for overnight travel farther afield.
Still avoiding local "big" multi-day shows. I think they are way over-priced for the profit, and the thought of leaving art unattended to the mercy of weather afflicts me with sleep deprivation. Did some new shows, one of them was the #3 best seller.
I am way behind on commissions. I have them, I am just slow.
Leaning on the prints has been a winner. I have hundreds of sold paintings saved digitally, I order them in batches of 20 or so from Redbubble, but only 2 or 3 of each. Back them with mat board, put them inside ClearBags, bingo, nice instant art widget that sells itself. Then order different ones so it stays fresh.
In 4 local stores, it's not big but it's fun. Like having 4 fruit trees spread around the county that I am allowed to graze.
For the Cold Wet Time of Jan-Feb 25 I plan to go back to my roots, swamp eBay with fast simple art, while putting down a drop cloth in our "loft" (top of staircase) and laboring on large vainglorious canvases. Like maybe "The Night Watch" except with Apes wearing 1600s munitions armor and elkhide coats, matchlocks in simian paws.